Representing the So Evil It’s Scary extreme of this list’s moral spectrum is Harry Powell, the wide-brimmed figure of darkness who has tattooed on his knuckles the words LOVE and HATE. A preacher in name only, Powell is a sociopath, responsible for a string of murders “ordered” by a vengeful God. While stewing in jail, he learns of a secret fortune, hidden in a location only known by two young kids. Powell’s monomaniacal pursuit of that stash forms the narrative arc of a genuine film classic—an utterly mesmerizing combination of noir, Southern Gothic and German Expressionism. It’s quite possibly Mitchum’s greatest role: no other movie has utilized his sleepy, heavy-lidded menace to greater effect.